


The Christmas Con

by FandomWritingsGalore



Category: Chris Evans - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF, Real Person Fiction
Genre: Bearded Chris Evans, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Christmas Tree, F/M, Holidays, Marvel Christmas, Marvel Universe, Protective Chris, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Sensitive Chris Evans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-10-05 08:36:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17321603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomWritingsGalore/pseuds/FandomWritingsGalore
Summary: Chris Evans agrees to be your fake boyfriend when you head to your family’s annual Christmas holiday at a rented cabin in the mountains. You think you’re pulling off the con until you’re both faced with a few obstacles you weren’t expecting, namely meddling relatives. Your family love him and you’re starting to think you might, too. This holiday you’ll learn there’s more to the season of giving, and Chris, than you thought.





	1. I'll Be Home For Chris-Mas

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays everyone! This is the first chapter in my Chris-mas story that I was inspired to write after watching The Proposal and way to many Hallmark movies since November. We handed out tropes like candy in this story so gear up for some fluff. I took a few liberties with family names because it was getting a bit confusing trying to reference all the relatives. I hope you all enjoy.

“Hey, want to help me get my parents off my ass about not having a date for the holidays?”

That was what started this whole weekend of tinsel town torment. Chris had graciously agreed to help you out and travel with you to your family’s annual three-day Christmas getaway to a cabin in the mountains. All it took was agreeing to provide the food for the next Patriots game watch party at his house. You readily agreed as you wouldn’t be able to stand your elder Aunts’ incessant questioning about your love life one more year.

The drive to the cabin went fine since you and Chris rode with your parents who had welcomed Chris with open arms from the moment you landed at the airport. He’d chatted away with them during the drive while you watched the gradual snow banks get taller and taller on the sides of the road the higher up the car went.

Your heart sped up in excitement as you rounded the final turn. The three-story cabin was set against a dense tree lined forest that, through the years, had seen you and your cousins build an army of snowmen, battle it out in snowball fights and share a contrabanded drink or two when the adults got to overbearing in the house. The log roof and wrap around porch railings were covered with snow, making it look like a picture perfect gingerbread house. The setting felt like a location straight out of a Hallmark Christmas movie. Regardless of the family craziness you knew was waiting behind those tall oak doors, you always looked forward to returning here every year. 

You were also glad Chris was here with you this time. You’d become close friends over the years after working with him on the first Captain America movie. You’d instantly bonded over your shared love of Disney and dogs. Chris liked to joke that Dodger loved you more than him since his pup would never leave your side when you went to his house. 

It was about 6 months ago, though, that you felt a shift in your relationship. Chris had helped you home after one to many drinks at the work wrap party. He’d taken off your coat and shoes, tucked you into bed and kissed your forehead goodnight. The next morning you woke up to a glass of water and headache medicine on your bedside table, and found  _him_  asleep on your sofa. When you’d thanked him over a cup of coffee, he shook his head and shrugged off your gratitude. 

“I didn’t want to leave you alone with that fucker, Colin,” he muttered, clearly still agitated about whatever had happened last night. “He wouldn’t stop hitting on you all night even when you told him no. You looked uncomfortable and he didn’t back off until I told him we were dating.”

“You what?” You wiped the bit of coffee that had spit out of your mouth at his revelation. you vaguely remember some guy following you around the party until he’d suddenly disappeared. Now that you thought about it, Chris had magically appeared around the same time. You held your pounding head in your hands just wanting to block the entire night out of your memory.

“Told him we were dating,” he repeated calmly. “In a not so subtly threatening tone, I might add. Almost tripped over himself apologizing when I put my arm around your waist later that night. I mean, most people think we are anyway, so it wasn’t hard to convince him.”

“Oh, I didn’t know…” You trailed off. 

“What? That people think we’re a couple?” Chris laughed. 

You’d be lying if you denied you found Chris attractive, but your timing just never seemed to work out. Either he was with someone or away filming when you were single, or you were dating someone when he was back in town. And, it wasn’t like either of you had the best track run when it came to relationships. Just another thing you had in common. A few of your exes’ seemed to be uncomfortable with your friendship with Chris, but the truth was, none of them were as easy or fun to be around as Chris. You didn’t have to worry about saying or doing the wrong thing with him. He’d said as much to you when you’d brought it up after one of your more hurtful breakups. He said it was the same with his own exes’, but eventually they realized that you were always going to be a part of his life and came to terms with it in one way or another.  

He got up to pour himself another cup of coffee. “I’m used to the press linking me with any woman I’m seen with at this point, but even  _my mom_  called me to see if we were dating after we were photographed leaving the Ritz together at night a couple times a few months ago.”

“I was helping you with your lines!” You spluttered. “We ate pizza and watched  _The Lion King_ , for Christ’s sake. Mackie was even there one day!”

He shrugged unbothered, “You know how the media twists things. Anyway, it was my pleasure being your arm candy for the night.” He raised his mug up in a mock toast before laughing as you rolled your eyes. “Oh come on, you know we’d be good together,” he teased as you got up to go get dressed.

“I know we would,” you sung over your shoulder.

After that morning, you noticed Chris didn’t date much. He claimed he was to busy for a relationship when you’d questioned him. He also started calling you more while he was away on set, which you began looking forward to each day after work. That was when the idea of fake dating Chris for the holidays became more than a way to get your family off your case. You imagined spending a night curled up in front of the fire with Chris, Christmas lights twinkling as a cold wind blew outside, and your heart ached with a feeling you’d never experienced before when you thought about your friend. So, you pitched the idea to him and he immediately agreed to accompany you, since his family were meeting up for New Years instead this year due to his siblings’ schedules.

Now, here you were in this winter wonderland. You were slightly annoyed your parents didn’t even seem that surprised when you said your boyfriend Chris would be joining your yearly gathering. You swore you’d even heard your dad mutter “about damn time” through the phone when you called them.

Chris hopped out the car and hurried over to open your door. You took the hand he offered, but he held it tighter when you went to let go. He pressed a kiss to the top with an excited smile.

“Don’t overdo it,  _dear_.” You giggled, snatching your hand back and lightly punching his shoulder. 

He quickly wrapped his arms around you before you could move further away, and pulled you close, booping your nose with an evil grin. “Oh, I plan to be the best boyfriend you’ve ever had. Fake or otherwise. I’m going to make your family love me so much they’ll be  _devastated_ when we break up.” 

You shook your head and laughed as he quickly released you go with a chirpy, “Let me help you with those bags, sir,” to your dad.

“Hey loser!” You turned to see who shouted and were tackled in a puffy coated embrace. Your cousin, Y/F/N, had her arms wrapped tightly around you. You both squealed, excited to see each other. Y/F/N was the kind of cousin who just so happened to also be your best friend. There was no one else who knew the ups and downs of your family like her and had been through it all with you since before you could walk.

“I’ve missed you so much!” You said, finally pulling away to look her up and down. She still looked like the same mischief maker she’d always been.

She was distracted by something behind you. “I see you brought a friend to play with,” she teased in a hushed voice, peeking over your shoulder. You followed her gaze and saw Chris’s jacket straining against his muscular arms as he easily lifted your mom’s heavy case from the trunk and onto the snow. “ _Nice_.”

You slapped her arm with a giggle, “behave.”

“Honestly, you know I’m tame compared to the cougars he’s about to face in there.” She looped your arms and started walking up the drive, pulling you along. 

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” you chuckled, nervously taking in the light decorations lining the brick path to the house. You recognized the bent, tiny display sled in the middle of the yard that your uncle had broken on one trip when your dad dared his brother he couldn’t snowboard down the hill on it. The “hold my beer” moment resulted in a night spent in the ER and hearing the story told at every family gathering since.

“So, why did I have to hear from my  _grandmother_ that you were not only dating a superhero but bringing him here?” She feigned a hurt expression. “It’s like you wanted me to be clueless in the firing line of questions.”

You chuckled. “Well, you know, we’ve been friends for a while now, and we decided to give it a shot. And don’t feel bad, because the only person who was supposed to know was my mom and I  _had_  to call to let her know I was bringing someone otherwise no one would’ve known until we showed up to protect me from the dozens of texts I received afterwards asking about what his favorite flavor of candy cane. We’ve been keeping our relationship secret so the press and fans don’t have a field day. Plus, this way we can control the narrative.” 

You and Chris had discussed this, and a few other “relationship milestones” beforehand to have your stories straight. He’d suggested sticking to as much of the truth as possible so it wouldn’t be hard to keep up the con.

“That makes sense,” she agreed. You pushed open the door and were hit with an invisible wall of heat that immediately started defrosting your cold nose. She scoffed, “but, don’t tell our dear auntie or she’ll have your head and then what would his gorgeous mug kiss? Although I do have some suggestions…”

But before she could tell you what those were, you heard a stampede of footsteps as the youngest members of your family came charging down the stairs shouting and yelling over each other about whose turn it was to pick the Christmas Eve movie this year. 

“Y/N!” They shouted upon seeing you, all rushing to hug you and soon you were in a doggie pile of tiny children. 

“Mommy said you’re dating Captain America!” Y/F/N’s young nephew giggled as you pretended to struggle under them all. 

“No, she  _said_  she’s dating a hunk!” His sister argued. “What’s a hunk, Y/N?” You choked back a laugh and fumbled for a response.

“Do you get to play with his shield?” Another one asked as a chorus of tiny voices started shouting questions without waiting for answers.

“Does he like marshmallows in his hot chocolate?”

“Does he like pink?”

“Does he know Spider-man?”

“Can he really pull a log apart like in the movie?”

“Will he help us make cookies for Santa?”

“Do you like him a lot?” your own niece piped up from the back of the group. 

They were overwhelming you with their curiosity but you smiled warmly, “I like him a  _whole_  lot.”

“ _Aww_ , babe, that’s so adorable. You like me.” Chris laughed in the doorway behind you and stepped up to press a cold kiss to your temple. “I like you a whole lot, too.” 

He slid an arm around your waist and stared down the kids who’d gone uncharacteristically quiet, watching him nervously. He bent down until he was looking them each in the eye in turn and said, “She likes to play with the shield, but she  _doesn’t_  like to share. I _love_  marshmallows in my hot chocolate and refuse to drink it without them. Pink is one of my favorite colors and I think it should be everyone’s. Spider-man is a  _very_ good friend of mine. Yes, I can pull a log apart, and I might be able to show you later. And, I think I can fit cookies into my schedule, but you’re all going to have to show me how to decorate them.” He broke out in a beaming childlike smile, “deal?” 

The kids all giggled and nodded before bombarding him with more questions. You watched fondly as he answered every single one with a well thought out response, never making the kids feel like they were a nuisance. 

“Didn’t I tell you all to go unpack!” A loud voice suddenly shouted from the kitchen doorway. You saw Y/F/N’s mom standing with her arms crossed, foot tapping angrily, glaring as all the kids scattered and scrambled back up the stairs, not wanting to get in trouble. “And make sure you neatly hang up the clothes! I’m going to check each of you later!” She yelled up the stairs after them.

Chris nervously stood up as she moved towards him. 

“So,” she drawled, slowly looking him over, “you must be the boyfriend I’ve been hearing so much about.” She smirked, “it’s good to see you’ve lived up to the hype.”

“ _Mom!_ ” Y/F/N hissed, embarrassed.

“Good to hear, ma’am,” he chuckled. “From what Y/N’s told me, you’re basically a second mother to her, so it’s a pleasure to meet you. I can’t wait to hear all her embarrassing childhood stories and please don’t leave out a single detail.” He nodded over to you, “I could use the intel on this one.”

She laughed. “More like stories about all the trouble they caused. Why do you think I’ve got some premature grey?” She motioned to her hair.

“Nothing wrong with a little  _experience_ , if you ask me,” he winked. You gaped, speechless, as he shamelessly flirted with her. He was turning up his usual charm, and it was working her over like a dream.

Her eyes brightened as she gave a cheshire grin and pulled him in for a hug. “Oh, I  _like_  you. You’re going to fit right into this family.”

You scoffed as she let go and turned to give you a tight bear hug. “All lies. I was a very well-behaved child, and I still am.”

“Not from  _my_  knowledge,” Chris’ eyes sparkled wickedly as you swatted his chest.

“Leave those bags in the hall for now, sweetie. You kids come on in the kitchen. We’re finishing up the spiked eggnog.

“More like finishing  _off_ ,” Y/F/N muttered low so her mom wouldn’t hear. “This is their second batch and we only got here two hours ago. Ian had to put the lights on the house before one of them tried to find the ladder.”

“ _Jesus_. Like we need a repeat of 2007’s ‘ladder log’ incident. Has Uncle James taken out the spatula yet?” You whispered as you made your way down the long winding hall. She nodded solemnly. “Oh  _shit_.”

Chris snorted behind you.

“Don’t laugh. It’s this hideous spatula that has Santa’s face on one side and his bare ass on the other. He tries to pinch everyone with it when he’s had to many to drink.” You explained, shaking your head.

Chris beamed, “This trip is going to be so much  _fun_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally posted over on my Tumblr blog FandomWritingsGalore, which is why my graphic has that author name. With the Tumblr meltdown I've been moving things here as a safety net.


	2. Rocking' Around the Chris-Mas Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to decorate the cabin for Christmas with Chris and maybe fend off your relatives from devouring him…

“So, Y/N, what does that boy do for a living again?” Your grandfather asked while you helped him chop the vegetables for dinner.

You’d been volunteered to assist, and Chris had been whisked away by the women the moment you both entered the kitchen. They claimed they needed a strong, tall man to help put the ornaments on the top of the tree. More like they knew _you_ were his only line of defense against their interrogation and ogling tactics, and wanted you occupied. You knew Chris could handle himself with your nosey relatives, but you doubted he knew exactly what he’d gotten himself into.

“He’s an actor, grandpaw,” you watched him warily as he shucked corn over the trashcan. “Why do you ask? Dad said he’d told you about him on the phone.”

He grunted. “Well I’m asking _you_ , now. I want to know what kind of man he is and if he’s treating you right. Otherwise, he might happen to disappear this weekend. These woods can be _offly_ confusing…”

“Grandpaw!” You guffawed, getting distracted and slicing a potato to large. He looked down and quickly cut it into smaller pieces before meeting your disbelieving eyes and giving you a crinkled grin.

“I hope he doesn’t expect you to financially support him while he pursues this career.”

You laughed knowingly, “I can promise you he _does not_ expect that. He’s not exactly struggling in the money department.”

“Good. You deserve better than a freeloader like Y/F/N’s fool sister is stuck with.”

“Be nice,” you chuckled. He finished shucking the corn and moved on to preparing the hamburger ingredients for the barbecue. “And make sure you add enough seasoning. You know Grandmaw hates it when the burgers don’t have any kick to them.”

He waved a dismissive hand at his wife’s preferences, but added an extra shake of the bottle as a precaution. He knew not to test her Christmas spirit. She’d given Aunt Helen the evil eye for the whole trip in 2005 when she refused to listen to her and properly season the turkey. The bland dinner wasn’t even out of the oven before Grandmaw whipped out a casserole she’d made before the trip and stated she knew this would happen. Apparently she came prepared out of spite. That was also the last year Aunt Helen cooked the family Christmas dinner.

“He’s a great guy though, really.” He gave you a ‘go on then’ look, not satisfied. You sighed and thought about what you appreciated the most about Chris. “Well, he’s funny, and he opens the door for me like a gentlemen, and brings my favorite ice cream just because.” You smiled to yourself as you thought about all the times he’d shown up to your home with a bag of goodies ready to have a movie marathon.

“Or, when I’m having a bad day, he’ll put on my favorite movie even if we’ve seen it hundreds of times. And, he’s so thoughtful. He’ll always grab an extra biscuit from the store for me and he knows how I like my coffee in the morning without asking. He also likes to bring home cute trinkets that remind him of me when he’s on location for one of his movies. I can talk to him about anything, and he won’t make me feel guilty about any weird questions.”

You paused, staring down at the messy cutting board as you realized just how much those little gestures meant to you, “he makes me call him when I get home to make sure I made it back safe…”

“It sounds like a he really loves you,” he noted approvingly.

“He’s just being Chris,” You shrugged, feeling heat spread up your neck at his words.

“Does he do all that for everyone?”

You tried to remember if any of Chris’ castmates or exes ever told you about meaningful little gestures. You vividly remembered one of his exes being upset that he’d text you so much, but you assured her it was just because their relationship was still new. That didn’t go over to well. If you were being honest, Chris never seemed as invested in his relationships the way the women he dated did. You’d told him so before and he brushed off your comments saying “they just weren’t right for me.” He always joked the only women he needed in his life were his mom and you. But, now that you thought about it, you _were_ the only constant woman in his orbit that wasn’t a relative.

“Mhm.” He hummed satisfied, your silence confirming what he already knew. “Have you talked about marriage yet?”

“What?” You stopped chopping and stared at him in shock.

“Well, I assumed things were serious enough between you two. You never bring a boy home, let alone to the cabin for Christmas.”

“How do you-”

“I’m 75, not _blind_ , pumpkin.” You warmed at the familiar nickname as he continued, “And I’ve also never seen you smile so much out here. Especially with this bunch of meddlers.”

“That’s not bec- he isn’t- we aren’t,” you stammered, at a loss for words. You’d prepared for the marriage question. You knew it would come up eventually, but you didn’t think you were acting _that_ obvious with your affection for Chris. “We’re taking things slow,” you breathed out, settling on the simplest answer.

“Don’t wait to long Y/N. If he’s a good man, he won’t wait forever.” You quietly watched him as he intently focused on shaping the burgers. “Doesn’t matter what anyone says,” he said with an edge to his voice, “when you meet them, you _know it,_ deep down, where it _counts_.” His gaze became unfocused and you knew he was thinking about your grandmother. He shook his head and nodded towards where you’d finished chopping, “You can leave the rest of that to me. Go on in the living room and save your boy from those vultures. They can smell fear.”

You chuckled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, “Thanks for the talk, Grandpaw.”

He just grunted and continued his task.

When you entered the living room, you saw was all of your aunts and cousins laughing to loudly as Chris stood on a ladder, being handed ornaments by Y/F/N’s sister to place on the taller sections of the tree, waving his hands around and telling some story. You were worried he’d fall off with how much physicality he was putting into the performance.

“And then she had the _audacity_ to tell me that it wasn’t my shirts, but her ex’s! One even had a C on the pocket!” He held onto the ladder and reached up to hang a silver skate as the room cracked up.

You noticed all eyes in the room were watching him intently, and that was when you realized every time he reached high on the tree his shirt rode up exposing his lower abdomen, and his already snug pants strained even more across his toned backside. You felt a sudden surge of protectiveness rise in you as they enjoyed the show.

You quickly walked over to stand and block him from view. He curiously glanced down at you when you placed a hand on the back of his thigh, signaling him to climb down. Even if he wasn’t actually your boyfriend, you didn’t like the way they all eyed Chris like a piece of meat. You shot a narrowed judgmental look at Y/F/N who at least had the decency to look guilty for being caught.

Your Aunt Viv wiped tears from her eyes as she sat on the sofa next to Y/F/N. Once she caught her breath, she spoke up, “Chris was just telling us the story about how his shirts kept mysteriously disappearing, and he knew you were taking them even if you denied it. So, he brought his dog over to sniff them out and found them in your closet!”

“Oh _really_? I don’t recall that.” You glared at Chris who shot you a mischievous smile as he joined you on the ground.

He stepped closer to you and pretended to press a kiss onto the side of your cheek, but whispered in your ear, “they wanted to hear stories, so I took creative liberties.”

“At my expense, I see.”

“I had to distract them. They were getting handsy,” he defended himself. “Your loss of integrity seemed my best option.”

You huffed, but you weren’t really mad. You knew how your family could get.

“Alright, Y/N, give him back,” Y/F/N’s sister giggled, taking a sip from her glass of wine. “He’s not done decorating and we want to hear more stories.”

“ _Fine_ ,” you said sharply. You poked his chest. “But, I’m going to climb the ladder this time and you’re going to hand me the ornaments if you’re going to continue storytime. I’d like to keep you in one piece.”

The room aw’d, but he shot you a secret, self satisfied, smirk knowing exactly why you were taking over. He placed a guiding hand on your back and held the ladder for you to climb up. You hooked an arm through one of the steps as you waited for him to pick out the next decoration.

You were watching him rummage through the boxes when you heard the front door open and close as your mom appeared in a heavy wool coat. She shivered from a chill, but smiled as she saw Chris hand you two pretty purple crystal baubles. You felt him shuffling below you as he leaned against the back of your legs to make sure he’d notice if you lost your balance since he couldn’t hold the ladder and grab ornaments at the same time. It made your heart warm at the thoughtfulness.

“The tree is looking gorgeous,” she approved, looking at the work you’d done so far. “Don’t forget to leave room for the star, though, Y/N.” You exchanged a glance with Chris who knowingly chuckled. It seemed no matter how old you’d get, some motherly things never changed. “The guys started a bonfire in the backyard so we could roast marshmallows after dinner. We figured if we got the kids out of the house we could wrap presents early this year since they always want to wake up at the crack of dawn.”

She shrugged out of her coat and tossed it over the stair railing while the others chatted. She came over to help Chris untangle some of the hooks since he wasn’t going to move away from you, and was ineffectively trying to hold the box in one hand and undo the mess since Y/F/N’s sister had sat down.

“Here,” she said, delicately and swiftly pulling a few apart for him before taking the box. You heard her whisper conspiratorially,  “These old things are always a pain to sort out every year. I’d suggested just getting candy canes and stringing popcorn, but apparently that wasn’t _good_ enough for the wanna be Robinsons.”

Chris gave a booming laugh, “Well, I’d have definitely eaten all the popcorn, so it’s probably for the best.”

You snorted as you leaned over to place a pretty snowflake on a branch, “that’s why I always order extra fries.”

“It’s called _payback_ for always stealing my desserts, babe.” He swatted your butt playfully, making you giggle and ruffle his hair before snatching the ornament he held out. You enjoyed the extra height advantage you had at the moment.

“I’m glad you two finally got together,” your mom said sincerely. She looked up at you while she unconsciously straightened a few lights on the tree. “Your father and I always said you would be good for each other, but both of you were just too stubborn to admit it.”

You felt your cheeks heat up as Chris ducked his head sheepishly, avoiding your gaze. Your mom placed a comforting hand over his wrist as he went to grab a snowman. He timidly raised his head as she continued, “I can tell how happy you make my daughter. It’s almost like- like she’s at ease with herself with you in a way I’ve never seen.” She took a shaky breath, “ I’m thankful you two found your way to each other.”

Tears pricked at the corners of your eyes at her words and you felt a lump in the back of your throat. You’d never heard your mother talk like this before and you were moved by her words. Your breath suddenly caught, because, for a moment you’d completely forgotten that the relationship she was so happy you’d found, that the love of the man who everyone was fawning over… none of it was real. This true love story was, at the end of the day, fake. In a short amount of time you’d go back to your empty home and Chris would go back to work and you’d see each other and hang out and text but it would never be the way it was now. Chris wasn’t yours. Not in that way.

You quickly swiped a hand across your cheek, not wanting to attract attention to yourself as you turned to take the ornament from Chris.

But, his touch lingered comfortingly as he looked up at you with piercing blue eyes that reflected the beautifully sparkling lights on the tree. His gaze held an unspoken emotion. Was it sadness? Pity? You almost could’ve sworn it was… but, no, he couldn’t…

Before you could dwell on it, his plump lips quirked up into a small smile. “I’m glad I found her in the end, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s nothing I love more than a little holiday fluff.


	3. Dreaming of a White Chris-Mas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What’s a cliche Christmas fic without a bonfire on a frosty night and a little pining?

Once the tree was complete, for the next few hours you and Y/F/N put up the garland on the large staircase and fireplace, while Chris entertained the rest of the family with some of his own family stories. You were now helping Y/F/N’s sister carry the food outside to the table that was set up as a makeshift buffet. 

“I feel like something’s missing,” she mused, looking over your handiwork. She threw her hands up in realization. “Napkins! I forgot the damn napkins.”

“I’ll get them,” you offered, knowing she needed to fix her kids’ plates before they had meltdowns.

“Thank you! They’re next to the extra chips, on the counter nearest the fridge.”

“Got it,” you headed for the back door.

“Oh, can you grab Jackson’s sippy cup while you’re in there?”

“Sure thing!” You looked back over your shoulder as you opened the door, and slammed it into someone on the other side. “Oh shit!” A loud groan answered and you darted inside to see Chris holding his jaw in pain. 

“Chris? I’m so sorry,” you reached out and caressed his head to assess the damage you’d inflicted. “I came in for napkins and I wasn’t looking where I was going and,  _fuck_ , that was solid oak. Oh my god,  _I’m so sorry_.”

At first, you thought he was crying with the way his chest shook, but you realized it was…laughter?

“Wha-” you watched his laughter grow, confused as to what the hell was so funny about this predicament. “Why are you laughing? Do you have a concussion or something? Stop laughing, this is serious!”

“Angel, I’m _fine_. I’ve gotten far worse hits from my sisters than a door could hope to achieve.” He grinned as you tilted his head side to side to see if his eyes were glazed, which would be the only sane reason he was making light of the situation. 

“Then why were you laughing?”

His eyes twinkled mischievously as he gave a deep chuckle, “because _I’m_  supposed to be the one knocking people’s socks off this weekend.”

You narrowed your eyes at him, but knew you couldn’t stay mad when he cracked jokes and  _you_  were the one who had accidentally hit him. 

“Well, you  _do_ have a pretty badass cut on you lip though.” You absentmindedly ran your finger across his lower lip to emphasize your point. His hitched breathing made you realize what you’d done and just how closely you were pressed against him. How had you never noticed he had tiny flecks of gold in his eyes when he smiled? When had his hands encircled your waist? The room suddenly felt much to hot. You dropped your hands and he quickly stepped back, taking deep breaths and gripping the counter behind him to steady himself.

“They need napkins-”

“We should join the party-”

You started speaking at the same time. You both nervously laughed as Chris reached around him and grabbed the napkins, holding them out as a nonverbal peace offering, which you accepted. 

“See you outside.” He smirked, passing close enough you could feel the brush of his jacket on your shoulder making you shiver from the brief contact.

“ _Kay_ ,” you managed to squeak out. 

You stepped towards the cabinet to get the sippy cup and collect your thoughts trying to calm your racing heart. What was happening to you? When had you stopped looking at Chris like your best friend and like-. 

Like what? A boyfriend? 

 _Fake_  boyfriend, you reminded yourself. Was he really just playing it up to fool your family? It’s like the moment you were dropped into this Christmas snow globe with Chris, all of sudden the world shifted and nothing made sense anymore. You were letting yourself get way to caught up in the con. Chris was doing you a favor because he cared for you as a friend. That was all. 

You straightened your shoulders and marched outside, determined to play the part and nothing more. You were stronger than this. He was standing near the fire warming his hands as you walked towards Y/F/N’s sister to hand her the sippy cup. You’d  _never_ risk your friendship with him. Not even if you could feel your heart clench at the sight of a few snowflakes in his hair and the firelight reflecting off the silver buttons of his peacoat. 

He held his hands up to this mouth and breathed into them. He gave a full body laugh as he chatted with your cousin, Ian, and your mom. As though he sensed your eyes on him, he looked up and softly smiled, his cheeks red from the cold. 

Dinner flew by as laughs were had, food was passed around and marshmallows roasted.

Chris grinned as he passed you a piece of chocolate for your s’more. “You know, when you said Christmas trip, this wasn’t what I expected,” he mused.

“Were you expecting someone to have been pushed in the bonfire by now?” You giggled darkly.

He shook his head affectionately, “no,  _smartass_. I mean, when I agreed to come with you for Christmas I didn’t expect it to feel so much like home.” 

The fire crackled as he scanned the large backyard where the kids were busy pretending to conquer kingdoms with their makeshift stick swords, your parents were busy chatting with their siblings and Y/F/N was rocking her youngest baby niece to sleep in a chair near you. 

His thoughtful gaze wandered back to you. “Despite whatever drama happens, you can  _feel_ the love you all have for each other. The faces and the names might be different, but,” he paused and looked down at the graham cracker in his hand, “here with you, Christmas feels like it does when I’m with my family in Boston.”

“I know it must be hard to not be with them during the holidays,” you said sympathetically. You knew how much he loved his large family. And he was right, despite all the craziness your family goes through, you knew when it came down to it, they would always be there to support and love you. You were luckier than most in that regard. “But, when you need one, you’ve always got a friend to help you set up Christmas trees and steal your desserts.”

He gave a loud barking laugh, “I knew you only stick around for the sweets. Speaking of.” He quickly went to work fixing his s’more and held it out to you. “A  _sweet_  for my sweet. But save some for me.” 

You accepted the offering and took a bite of the warm gooey treat. You closed your eyes with a content sigh. “You can cook for me anytime, Evans.” 

As you passed the dessert back, his hand brushed yours and he gasped. “Your hands are  _freezing_. Come here.” He set the gooey treat onto a plate before he got up and stood in front of you. “Give me your hands,” he ordered. 

You smiled as you held your palms out without hesitation. He bent over, being careful of the flames, and rubbed your hands together between his large ones and you felt the warmth spreading to the tips of your fingers. 

“ _Honestly_ ,” he huffed. “You’re going to make me look bad. I can’t have my girlfriend getting frostbite on the first day,” he teased in a low voice. “What kind of boyfriend would that make me?”

“A  _real_  one,” you snarked.

He grunted in disgust, “well, then it falls to your _fake_  boyfriend to show you how you should be treated by a real boyfriend.”

“And how’s that?” You whispered expectantly. Your heart was starting to race again as he gradually slowed his movements, until he stilled, brow furrowed, thinking over his answer.

“You deserve someone who’s willing to give you the world,” he drawled. “But, he knows and respects that you have the intelligence and bravery to get it all on your own. Someone who isn’t intimidated by your passion, but thrives in it and is turned on by it.” His blazing eyes pinned you in place, and took your breath away. “That’s how I’d feel, anyway.” 

You felt a heat spreading through your body that you knew had nothing to do with the roaring fire.


	4. Merry Chris-Mas, Baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it’s time to add a little spice to the nice. I have been WAITING for this chapter’s time to shine. If y’all thought fake dating was the trope highlight of this fic, y’all had another thing coming. I will let you find out for yourself why this chapter is one of my favorites…

“You’re making a mess,” Chris chided, as you wrapped yet another toy for one of the kids.

“Shut up and pass me the tape.” 

“There’s more tape on that present than wrapping paper.” 

“Don’t judge me when your handwriting looks like an undeveloped version of the alphabet.” You snatched the roll out of his hand as he stuck his tongue out at you.

The kids were finally in bed. The plan of wrapping presents early ended up being a bust which resulted in everyone claiming a section on the wood floors of the living room, four hours later, all helping to get the large task completed before it got even later. Most of the older folks had gone to bed and left the wrapping to you, Chris, your mom, cousins and Y/F/N’s mom who refused to let anyone do a half assed job, else they face her wrath.

“Those cookies were for Santa!” You glanced up to see Y/F/N glaring at your cousin, Ian, as he shrugged and continued chewing. 

“Even Santa’s helpers need sustenance,” his hand was inching towards the plate again but he flinched back as she boinked him on the head with an empty wrapping paper tube. “Ok, ok. Don’t be a Grinch.”

“I think that’s the last one,” Y/F/N’s sister sighed and shoved the package away, falling back to lay on the floor wiped out. “All that work and those little monsters are going to shred every last present in 10 seconds flat tomorrow morning.”

“Yeah, but it’s fun to see their faces,” Chris said with a smile. “There’s something special and pure about believing in Santa, like magic actually exists.”

“That’s the exhaustion talking,” your mom corrected, yawning. “It makes the reality a lot more shiny than it really is.”

He scoffed, “oh come on, where’s your Christmas spirit?”

“I think it’s in one of the snowflake wrapped boxes,” you laughed, pushing your finished present away and raising your arms over your head in a stretch that felt euphoric·· after being hunched over for so long.

“ _Really_ , guys?” Chris groaned, pushing you so fell laughing against the sofa at his pouty expression. “Wasn’t there ever one Christmas gift that you would’ve given anything for, and then when you got it on Christmas morning it was the best feeling ever?”

Y/F/N smiled wistfully, “I remember one year I wanted a lite-brite. I got it on Christmas, but lost most of the pieces the next day. All I could create was a pitiful looking fish.”

“I asked Santa for an Aston Martin model car set one year,” Ian chimed in, “you know, like James Bond’s car?” He rolled a wadded up ball of spare wrapping paper back and forth while he spoke. “My dad and I would spend  _hours_  on those things when I was growing up. It was how we spent time together when he wasn’t away for work.” 

“What about you?” You poked Chris in the side, as you sat up. “What did you ask Santa for?”

“Don’t you know?” He pretended to be offended.

You laughed, “Let me guess, season tickets for the Patriots?”

“You know me so well, babe,” he smiled. “I asked for the tickets and a microphone so I wouldn’t have to share with Scott anymore. Santa only brought the microphone, and my parents said it was because the season tickets were something that was out of Santa’s budget.”

“Honesty is the best policy,” you agreed.

“Alright, everyone,” your mom interrupted, clapping her hands. “Time for bed. Big day tomorrow and we need to get some sleep.”

Once the holiday wrapping tornado was cleaned up, everyone made their way up the stairs. You heard the doors closing down the halls.

“And you two will have this room.” Y/F/N’s mom said, waving towards a door on your right. “Ian brought your bags up earlier. They should be by the closet. We figured you guys would appreciate your own bathroom for more privacy, too.” She opened the door and you saw there was only one bed in the room. “Towels are in the cabinet nearest the shower, and there are extra blankets in the armoire if you need. There’s even a balcony that faces the mountains at sunrise, which is really romantic. Nighty night love birds.” She singsonged and headed back to the stairs to go up to her bedroom on the 3rd floor.

“Oh, I, uh, I assumed, we wouldn’t be allowed to room together. Since, you know, we’re not married or anything,” you rambled, motioning between you and Chris. Your throat was now very dry at this new development. This was not part of the plan.

“Sweetie, don’t be silly, you’re an  _adult_. You didn’t expect us to make you sleep in bunk beds, did you?” Your mom said with a laugh as she hugged you and Chris goodnight and walked to the stairs. “Breakfast will be at 9.” She paused on the landing and said in a cautious tone, “the kids usually wake up everyone around 8…” She raised an eyebrow and gave you a pointed look that made you feel like you’d been caught with a boy in your room. Oh, the irony. “It would be advisable to keep any… _activities_ , PG after that time.”

“ _Understood_ , ma’am,” Chris assured. With a final nod, she ascended the stairs and you made your way into your room with Chris close on your heels.

You both stared at the single bed, not speaking. You avoided his sharp gaze, way to mortified at the predicament you’d landed the two of you in to make any sort of eye contact.

“We can-” you began.

Chris interrupted, “You can take the bathroom first.” He nervously ran his hand through his hair. “I’ll unpack our things.”

You quickly grabbed your toiletries bag and pajamas and hurried into the restroom to escape the awkwardness of the other room. Taking your time brushing your teeth and washing the day off, you were never unaware of the man on the other side of the door. You tried to think of a solution that wouldn’t result in your fake relationship being found out, but nothing seemed believable enough. Why would Chris sleep on the sofa instead of with you? Did you have a fight? You could already hear the numerous questions your relatives would ask if Chris didn’t wake up in the room with you on Christmas morning. 

When you exited the bathroom, you were no closer to solving the problem than you were when you went in. You saw Chris gently closing the armoire door. 

“I put your suitcase in the closet,” he distractedly informed you. You nodded your thanks, but didn’t move. Unsure what to do with yourself. “You’ll take the bed. I grabbed the extra blankets and pillows for the floor.” He motioned to the side of the bed that was out of view and you moved to see the setup he’d made.

“You can’t sleep on the floor.”

“Well I’m not letting you sleep on the floor.”

“You’ll  _freeze_ ,” you argued. 

“I’ll be fine with the extra blankets.” He moved to go past you into the bathroom, trying to end the discussion.

“I am  _not_  letting you sleep on the floor after everything you’ve done for me.” You crossed your arms, stepping in front of him to block his path.

He paused and placed his hands on his hips, “then what do you  _suggest_  because I think me sleeping on the balcony would be even colder.”

“You’ll sleep in the bed,” you hesitated, as his eyebrows shot up in shock. “With  _me_ ,” you added for clarification.

He closed his mouth that had fallen open, and simply nodded before walking into the bathroom, leaving you in a dazed state at what you’d just done.

Well that went some kind of way, you thought sarcastically. You picked up the makeshift bed he’d created and tossed the things into the closet. You’d tend to it tomorrow. 

He came back out of the bathroom shortly after in navy sweatpants and a snug, plain, white t-shirt while you were pulling down the comforter and sheets.

“Are you sure you’re comfortable with this?” He shifted and folded his arms across his chest, not making any move to get into the bed.  “I really don’t mind sleeping on the floor if-.”

“Chris, you’re my best friend. I trust you.” Your bare feet were starting to get cold on the hardwood floor as you stared him down and you honestly just wanted to go to sleep after the long day. “Now get in the damn bed before we  _both_ catch a cold and my Aunt says it’s because we fucked in the snow or some bullshit.”

He quietly laughed and relented with an amused expression, pulling down his side of the sheets as you both climbed into bed. You let your head flop onto the pillow and snuggled into the dreamily soft bedding. You stared up at the ceiling, your tiredness replaced by a stiffness, acutely aware of the dip in the bed next to you. You rested your hands on the top of comforter with a sigh and knew you’d never be able to fall asleep with him so close.

“Snow’d be to cold.” Chris noted, distracting you from your deliberations on the pros and cons of counting sheep.

“Hmm?” You hummed in confusion.

“Fucking,  _in the snow_ , it would be to cold.” You heard a shuffle and turned to see him roll onto his side so he was facing you. “I’m more of a rug in front of the fireplace kind of guy.”

You giggled as his teasing grin immediately put you at ease. You rolled over, too, your noses almost pressing against each other. The sound of the wind on the window the single noise in your room. Here in the dark, it felt like you were the only two on the mountain tonight. “How cliche. What, rolling around in the grass is beneath mister movie star?”

“Grass is fine, if a little itchy, but snow just soaks through your clothes and makes things uncomfortable. Plus, the cold air doesn’t exactly lend itself to an impressing reveal.” 

“Speaking from experience, Evans?”

“Would you think less of me if I said yes?” 

“Maybe,” you needled.

“Then no.” He chuckled, “what about you?”

“No to the snow for the same reasons.” You gave a wistful sigh. “But, the fireplace setting does sound nice on a cold night. Or, what about on a blanket, in a field under the stars?”

“Why,  _angel_ , are you suggesting inappropriate public exposure.” He wiggled his eyebrows looking ridiculous. “ _Naughty_  girl.”

You turned your face into the pillow to muffle your laughter and felt him shaking from holding back his own to not wake the others. After you both caught your breath he gave a tired sigh.

“Though, I’m not ashamed to admit I’d try anything with the right person.” You noticed his eyes darken as they flicked down to your lips and back up. His adams apple bobbed as he swallowed.

The anticipation filled the mere inches of space between you. You could feel his breath fluttering tauntingly on your skin and the heat radiating off of his body so close to yours beneath the covers made your nerve endings aware of every press of the sheets and movement of the bed beneath you. You wanted so badly to reach out and trace the hard edge of his jaw with your tongue before kissing your way up to his beautiful, waiting mouth.

He suddenly rolled back over to his side of the bed, effectively breaking the spell you’d been seduced by. “We should, uh, we should get some sleep.”

You chided yourself at the twinge of disappointment you felt, but followed suit and rolled over to the edge of the bed so your back was to him. You needed distance to calm the fluttery feeling in your stomach, and out of sight out of mind was your best option with him in the bed. 

The moonlight was peeking through the slit where the curtain met the wall and you watched how it got brighter and darker as the clouds moved in front of it, trying to shake off the lingering feelings of need that had crept up on you.

You’d thought Chris had fallen asleep when he hadn’t made any noise for a while besides his deep even breathing. Maybe he thought you were already out when he confessed in a tender whisper, “I like spending Christmas with you, Y/N.”

Still facing away from him, you finally drifted off to sleep with a contented smile.


	5. All I Want For Chris-mas Is You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If y’all thought the younger cousins were cute, your heart’s going to melt for this chapter. One more to go after this! We’re almost to the finish line!

You awoke to the sounds of pounding feet and high pitched squeals outside your door. You frowned and nuzzled your face into the soft fabric under your cheek not wanting to get up yet. As you came to, you felt a hand tighten on your waist and a deep groan from under your head. That’s odd, you thought. You slowly opened your eyes to orient yourself. You stilled as your brain started piecing together your current situation. You were curled with a hand resting on his chest, legs entwined, with Chris, who held you tightly to him in the middle of the bed. 

His tightened his embrace and let out a big yawn, eyes fluttering open uncomprehendingly. He gave you a sleepy smile with half closed eyes. “Mornin’, angel,” he said in a husky morning voice that sent a shiver down your spine.

You knew the moment he came to, because the hand that had been rubbing soothing circles into your back froze as his eyes shot open, now fully awake and aware of who was in his arms. “Shit.”

The two of you jerked away from each other as someone knocked loudly on the door. “Everyone decent?”

“ _Shit!_ ” you whisper yelled. “Just a second,” you shouted to the anonymous knocker. “I think we overslept. What time is it?” You hurriedly tried to straighten the mess of sheets. Chris, one handed, checked his phone and simultaneously pulled the bottom of his shirt down. It must have ridden up during the night but you didn’t have time to wonder if you had subconsciously done it your sleep or he just moved around a lot.

“8:15.” He said, hastily setting his phone back down and almost dropping it. He almost fell out of bed catching it before throwing it onto the table. You both scooted back against the pillows and got in an appropriate position. He awkwardly put his arm around your shoulders at an odd angle and you shimmied closer trying to make it appear like you always woke up this way and weren’t completely uncomfortable.

“Come in!” You both said at the same time in a much cheerier tone than necessary.

The door opened just a little and your mom peeked in as though making sure there was no funny business going on. Satisfied, she walked fully into the room followed closely by Y/F/N and the gang of kids who proceeded to run and hop onto the bed.

“Your wake up calls decided to deliver the message in person,” She said with an amused grin.

“It’s Christmas!” Your niece cheered. “Time to get up and open presents.” 

“I thought you’re supposed to have breakfast to build up energy for present opening?” Chris pretended to scold them before cracking a big grin.

“We’re not allowed until everyone is up,” Y/F/N’s nephew Jackson stated, tugging on your hand.

“Now it all makes sense,” Chris nodded sagely glancing over at you. “But, we’re both  _so so_  tired. I think we might sleep for a few more hours,” he discreetly winked, and you bit back a laugh. He gave an over exaggerated yawn and tucked his head into your neck pretending to go back to sleep.

“Yeah, I say we wait until tonight to open presents,” you played along, patting Chris on the head as though shushing him back to dreamland. “To make sure we’re all well rested.

“I agree,” Y/F/N said with a very real yawn of her own. “Holidays are for sleeping in late.”

The kids all gasped in horror before they scrambled off and ripped you both out of the bed in their excitement.

“You can have nap time later. Presents now,” your niece instructed pulling Chris by the arm and putting all her weight into dragging him to his feet. He held onto her small hands so she wouldn’t fall once he rose off the bed. 

“I think you guys just want to know what awesome gifts Chris the Elf got for them, which means I can just _tell_ you!” He gave a booming laugh and one-armed lifted her up off the ground as she clung to him giggling and swinging her feet in mid-air. 

“ _Nooo_ , we have to open them  _all together_!” She instructed with a serious expression. “And  _you_  have to come, too, because you’re  _family_.”

Chris set her down gently, taken aback by her words. “Family? You mean, you guys think of  _me_  as family?” He gazed around at all the kids who nodded ‘yes.’ His brows furrowed in confusion. “But, you- you just  _met_ me?” 

She rolled her eyes and gave him a big cheesy smile, “You love Aunt Y/N so that makes you family, dummy.” 

He blinked in surprise and your heart warmed at how open and loving these incredible little kids were. You had to bite your lip to keep from tearing up at her candidness. 

“Oh  _sweetie_ ,” your mom lovingly sighed, the pride of her granddaughter evident in her eyes. “That was very kind of you to tell Chris.”

“Mommy and daddy say to  _always_  tell the truth about how you feel,” your niece stated sassily, crossing her arms with narrowed eyes, as though daring anyone to argue with her parents advice. She was clearly unbothered by all the melting hearts she caused the adults to have for her honesty.

Chris dazedly looked over to you and shook his head in bewilderment. You shrugged and smiled, “You make it very easy to fall in love with you, Evans.”

“Enough with the mushy talk.” You stumbled onto the cold floor with a laugh as Jackson yanked you out of bed. “Let’s  _go_ , sleepyheads.”

“Alright you lot, let Y/N and Chris get ready and we’ll meet them downstairs,” your mom ordered, raising a hand to wipe the few tears that had fallen. She herded all the kids towards the door. 

“But they’re already  _in_  their pjs,” Jackson whined, but quieted at a stern look from your mom. He turned back to you and Chris and wagged his finger threateningly, “ _don’t_  go back to sleep or you won’t be able to bake cookies with us later.”

Chris pretended to look scared before miming an X over his heart, “I’ll make sure Y/N is ready in 5 minutes. Scouts honor.” He quickly crossed the room to steer you by the shoulders towards the bathroom, saying loud enough for the kids to hear, “I am  _not_ missing out on decorating cookies.”

When he shut the door behind him, you both broke out in giggles. Chris brushed past and handed you your toothbrush.

“Don’t fuck around. I feel like they’re going to come back with a vengeance if we take longer than 5 minutes.” 

“Yes, the 3 feet tall children can be  _very_  vicious,” you snorted, but accepted the toothpaste he offered without argument. 

“You joke, but they’re the perfect height to take out your knees when you’re not looking.”

You met his serious expression in the mirror before shaking your head. “I have no doubt my niece could take you, Evans, as could I.”

“I look forward to the day you try, angel,” he said with a cocky grin. “Now, hurry up. We’re down to 4 minutes.”

***

Unwrapping the presents went as quickly as you thought it would. You were watching amused as Chris and Y/F/N tried to piece together the remote control car one of the kid’s received. They were going back and forth over what went where, completely abandoning the instructions inside the box. 

You took another sip of the homemade hot chocolate your dad made. It was a Christmas morning tradition. Open presents, hot cocoa, and then everyone would get dressed to do whatever they wanted the rest of the day. The only rule was that you came back for lunch and dinner so everyone could eat together as a family.

“What do you want to do once you’re done?” You asked Chris.

He shrugged. “Bake cookies? Or, we could watch a Christmas movie. What about  _Die Hard_?”

“ _Die Hard_  is not a Christmas movie and that is the hill I will die on,” Y/F/N interjected with a huff. You set your mug down on the side table and tucked your feet up onto the armchair.

Chris laughed, “Since it’s Christmas I’m not going to argue about how wrong you are. How about something outside then since the sun is out?” He paused as an idea struck. “ _Do you want to build a snowman_?” he sang slowly.

“Oh no…” you groaned, knowing exactly what was about to happen.

He beamed and stretched out a hand to you, “ _Come on, let’s go and play_!”

“Chris, don’t start…” you warned. He hopped onto his knees and shuffled over to you. You dropped your head into your hands in embarrassment as the rest of the family started laughing.

Reaching out, he grabbed your hands earnestly and cheesily sang, “ _It doesn’t have to be a snowman_.”

“ _Go away, Chris!_ ” You giggled, playing along.

“Love is an open door, angel,” he pressed a hard kiss to your hands and pulled you forward in the chair until your lips were inches apart. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.” 

Your heart was pounding as you were swept away by the fondness pouring from his blue eyes. Fondness for  _you_. Which was why your next words fell before you could think to hold them back. 

“I’d never want to,” you breathed quietly, so sincere and heartfelt it was as though you poured every feeling of love and longing you’d ever felt for Chris into those words. 

The realization hit you so suddenly and swiftly it knocked the air from your lungs with the truth of it. You were in  _love_  with Chris. In love with the way he could always make you laugh. With the way his heart could hold an infinite amount of love for his family and friends, his dog, and the world…for you. You were in love with your best friend.

He sat back on his heels in disbelief as the remote control car went whizzing past, distracting him and drawing his attention. Y/F/N had finished putting it together and the kids were now racing it around the house.

You gulped as Chris glanced back at you with wary confusion written all over his features. 

Oh  _shit_. He thought you were just acting for the sake of the con. He probably  _thought_  you were putting on a good show for the family and got caught up in the moment. You had made a terrible miscalculation. Had you just ruined everything you had with him? He quickly rose and shifted around nervously, as though lost and unsure what to do with himself.

“Why don’t we pick up this mess and eat breakfast?” Your mom suggested, looking between the two of you as you sat in silence. You avoided her questioning gaze. “We made a big feast for everyone.” She stood and squeezed your shoulder, knowing something was amiss even if she didn’t understand why.

“I’ll help you grab the plates,” Chris immediately volunteered, following her into the kitchen.

During breakfast Chris was uncharacteristically quiet and it only increased your fear that you had crossed a line you would never be able to come back from. He quickly finished up his meal and announced he was going get dressed. 

“We have snowmen to make,” he said with a cheeriness you knew was fake. The rest of family hadn’t notice, not knowing how he could go on actor autopilot to make people believe everything was ok, when he was really freaking out on the inside.

You gave him privacy in your shared room and helped wash the dishes downstairs, lost in your internal agony of what he must be thinking and was this the end of your friendship? Just the thought of not having Chris in your life made your ears ring and your breathing quicken in anxiety. 

You dashed up the stairs, both to change and to convince Chris it was all a part of the act. You would not lose him because you had a moment of weakness.

“Chris?” You called out, swinging the door open without knocking. You gasped when you saw him standing at the foot of the bed with a towel draped around his waist and his wet hair tousled. He must’ve just gotten out of the shower. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I should’ve knocked. I’ll, uh, I’ll just,” you were waving your hands around trying to piece together a sentence and stare anywhere but at the outline of his well defined chest and how his towel fell perfectly on his hips just below his v-line. The water droplets still clinging to his body only drawing more attention to the hard ridges. Stop it! You chided yourself taking a deep breath to still your shaking hands. 

“Wait,” he instructed as you went to leave the room, mortified even more than you were previously. “You can stay. I’m just about done if you want to get dressed.”

“It’s fine, I can come back when you’re done,” you suggested meekly.

“It’s  _ok,_  Y/N.” His expression was one of sincerity, and you knew he meant more than just seeing him half naked. He meant the two of you were ok. He gave you a tender smile, “I trust you.”

You gave a laugh of relief as he repeated your words from last night and stepped into the room, closing the door behind you. “I’m really sorry about how intense I got downstairs-”

He waved a hand dismissively, “don’t worry about it. I know you were just keeping up appearances.”

You stopped, frozen in place. He  _did_  think you were acting. That was what you’d wanted, though. The entire reason you’d come running up the stairs was to convince him it was fake.

“Right?” he questioned your silence, expression neutral. 

“…Right.” 

He clenched his jaw and gave a sharp nod. “Then you better get ready. We’ve still got a family to fool.”

The words were like knives to your heart. You gathered your outfit for the day and padded past him to the restroom. He quietly watched you until you gently clicked the door closed and leaned against the counter suddenly feeling overwhelmingly drained.

This was for the best. Things could go back to normal. You and Chris could still be best friends and you’d just attribute this weekend’s newfound emotions to the picture perfect Christmas card you’d been thrust into and you’d get over whatever it was you thought you felt for Chris come the flight home. 

But, as you pulled your shirt over your head, deep down, you felt a cold sense of dread knowing these feelings wouldn’t disappear overnight, _if ever_. You’d broken the cardinal rule of every good con. 

You’d fallen in love with your fake boyfriend, and now you had to live with it.


	6. Have Yourself A Merry Little Chris-Mas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it guys! The final chapter! I hope you enjoyed this Hallmark movie fic as much as I loved writing it. If you’ve gotten to this point, thank you for reading and supporting me.
> 
> And now, get ready for one of my favorite chapters of The Christmas Con, even if it is the last one. I’m not going to give much away this time as I want you all to go into this with little foreknowledge so it’ll be even more special. I suggest fixing a nice cup of cocoa and putting on your favorite Christmas tunes to finish this series the way I did. If you’re interested, these were my top songs to listen to for inspiration while writing the final chapter:
> 
> -White Christmas by Michael Buble  
> -Merry Christmas Baby by Otis Redding  
> -All I Want for Christmas Is You by Michael Buble  
> -The Christmas Song by Jordan Fisher  
> -Please Come Home for Christmas by Aaron Neville  
> -Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Judy Garland, this is the version referenced (also rotated Jensen Ackles cover, too)

“There. All done,” Chris said proudly, placing a final stone on his completed snowman’s smile.

You stuck a carrot into your own snowman before inspecting his handiwork. “Not bad. Although his coal button eyes are a little off center and his nose is crooked.”

You reached up to straighten them, but he slapped your hands away and spread his arms and legs to block his snowman from you. “ _Don’t_  touch my frosty. He is  _perfect_ just the way he is and I love him. Soulless uncentered black eyes and all.” He gave his snowman a big hug making you and the kids laugh.

“Listen,  _Elsa_ , if I have to freeze my tail off out here, then you could at least do me the courtesy of making his nose straight,” you giggled, reaching under his arms to fix it. He grabbed you around the waist and spun you away, holding your arms down as you struggled in his strong grip.

“No touchy, babe, or there will be consequences,” he warned in a teasing voice as the kids started gathering around, abandoning their own snowmen.

“Oh, yeah? Well you know what this means, don’t you?” You said, relaxing your stance so he unsuspectingly started to loosen his embrace. You winked at the kids who started running in opposite directions, knowing exactly what was about to go down. Breaking his hold and taking off after one group, you scooped up a snowball and nailed him in the chest as he stood in surprise. “Snowball war!” you yelled. 

“It’s on!” He shouted back, quickly running behind a tree with a few of the other kids. 

You hurried to help your niece prepare a few snowballs as the first line of fire came in from the trees. 

“Come out and face us like girls, you jellyfish scaredy cats!” She shrieked, catching you off guard by her fierceness as she stood up and charged the tree line with a warrior cry worthy of Wonder Woman, flinging snowballs as far as her little strength would allow. 

“You heard our commander,” you declared, raising a fist full of snow to the rest of your group who were bouncing in anticipation. “ _Attack!_ ” 

Your merry band of children took off with yells and cheers as Chris’ army ran out of the trees whooping and hollering with your best friend in the lead. He shot you in the butt as you bent to collect more ammo and laughed, running away as you chased after him. 

“Get back here, Christopher!” You bellowed after him. The snow was to slippy for you to properly run but he wasn’t being as cautious.

“You’ll have to catch me first, babe!” He shouted over his shoulder with a beaming smile. He watched you high step through the snow, throwing snowballs at his retreating figure. Suddenly, his legs flew out from under him with a yelp and he seemed to hang in the air for a few moments, arms flailing, before he thumped on the ground with a loud  _oof_.

“Chris!” You shouted, worried he injured himself. Dropping your remaining snowballs you hurried to where he was lying in the snow. When you reached him, you saw he was holding his chest and groaning. You kneeled down and gingerly touched his arms and legs.  “Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Just my pride,” he chuckled. You helped him sit up and he dusted snow off his coat. “I think I won the battle.”

“Possibly,” you mused. You smirked and sneakily grabbed a handful of snow. “But, I’ll win the war.” He gasped, stunned as you smashed the snow onto his chest pushing him back on the ground. 

You were laughing at your victory when he grabbed you around the waist, pulling you down on top of him with a surprised squeal.

“You think you’re so cute, huh?” He growled. Adrenaline was coursing through your veins as his arms held you tight to him, allowing every inch of him to be pressed against you. You gulped in excited anticipation, as he gazed up with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Seeing as you like to play  _dirty_ , angel, let’s see if you like  _this_ ,” he muttered huskily, the deep timber of his voice distracting you. 

You felt one arm tighten around your waist as his other hand moved up your body. Your breathing was getting ragged and your eyes fluttered closed. 

Something freezing slid down the neck of your shirt making your eyes fly back open. He barked a laugh and flipped you over so he was lying on top of you, pressing the now melting ice even more into your skin making you shriek from the bone chilling feeling.

“ _Chris!_ GAH! Get  _off_ , it’s so cold!” You pushed against his hard chest but he just wrapped around you tighter. 

He laughed as you squirmed beneath him. “Admit defeat!”

“ _No!_ ” Your pride overrode your logical need for a cup of hot chocolate and a roaring fire. His body was shaking in laughter as you wiggled and struggled under his weight. The snow had slightly melted into freezing water and was now soaking through your coat making the snow underneath add to the icy hot feeling in your body. “ _Ok_! Ok, ok, ok I give. You win!”

He raised his head to look at you with a wicked grin, pinning you down with his hips. “What was that?”

“You heard me, you little shit,” you said, laughing at his smug smile. “You  _win_. Now get off me so I can go defrost in front of the fire!”

“No need to get  _testy_ , angel” he teased, satisfied with your surrender. He leaned back and pulled you up to stand alongside him. 

“You don’t play fair,” you muttered petulantly. He dusted snow off the two of you, as you shivered. You looked around and saw the last of the kids running towards to the backyard still pelting snowballs at each other. 

“You’re the one who came for me with the sneak attack,” he chuckled. He noticed you shiver from the cold clothes you had on. “ _Here_ , take my scarf,” he said with a guilt ridden expression. Removing the maroon wool scarf and winding it around your neck, he tucked it into your coat. “Better?” 

“Yes, thank you,” you said gratefully. Your senses were immediately enveloped by Chris’s familiar cologne. Your mouth watered at the tantalizing scent. You pursed your lips in contemplation as he slung an arm around your waist to help you walk up to the house. “And I guess I’ll take  _some_  of the blame. It’s the least I can do, seeing as how you hilariously flew through the air like a frisbee. I’ll never forget the little high pitched pterodactyl screech you made.”

“We make quiet a pair.” He gave a booming laugh. You just shook your head with a snicker.

“Everyone’s out back- what  _happened_ to you two?” Your aunt asked as you stomped up the stairs to get the snow off your shoes. She sat down in one of the rocking chairs and took a sip from her glass of eggnog.

“Snowball fight,” Chris explained smugly. “I won.”

“Did she try to sneak attack you?” She asked, looking at you with judging eyes. 

“Yeah, she  _did_ actually.”

“When she was little she used to rally the other kids to scare the adults whenever any of us would come outside. They spent one Christmas confined to their rooms for an entire day.”

You beamed, “And it was completely worth it to see Uncle James hit himself in the face with that Santa spatula.”

“It  _wasn’t_ funny,” but she bit her cheek to hold back a laugh. “ _Although_ , we didn’t have to see that damn thing for another year so it wasn’t all bad.” She looked up sharply, “but don’t you dare tell him I said that.”

“Well, I had a few  _moves_ of my own she wasn’t ready for,” he cockily boasted, making your aunt cackle and almost spill her drink on the porch. You lightly punched his arm in annoyance.

“You better watch yourself, Chris. If she’s anything like the rest of the family, you’ve got a wild one on your hands in all the ways it counts.”

“ _Oh my god_ ,” you groaned, completely mortified. Chris chuckled at your aunt’s teasing. You pulled open the door and spoke over your shoulder, “I am going  _inside_  where it’s warm and the conversation isn’t so humiliating.”

“With a body like his you shouldn’t need a fire to stay warm, Y/N,” she mused appreciatively, giving Chris a lingering once over. He grabbed his chest and howled in laughter.

You gasped at her forwardness. Pointing, you grabbed him by the shirt and tugged him towards the door. “ _Jesus Christ_. Just- just get inside, Romeo. I can’t even-  _honestly_ , you’re all worse than teenagers.”

He was still laughing after you’d pulled off your coat and scarf and moved to sit on the floor in front of the fireplace. He leaned back on his elbows as he watched you rubbing your hands together for warmth with a frown on your face. He nudged you with his knee and you raised an eyebrow questioningly at his relaxed form. 

“You know they’re all just teasing us because we’re supposed to be in our honeymoon phase,” he reasoned.

“I know, but I always thought the incessant questioning about my love life was bad enough when I  _didn’t_  have a boyfriend. I didn’t expect it to take this sort of turn when I had a  _fake_  one, especially with someone I care about.” You let out a tired sigh. “It’s just exhausting having to pretend all the time.”

“All the time?” He scrunched up his nose in confusion. “What do you mean?”

You froze. When you said pretending you’d not only meant in front of your family, but also with Chris and your very real feelings for him. “Just, you know, always having to be _on_ with my job and stuff,” you lied. 

Your shirt was now mostly dried and you were confident you wouldn’t lose any fingers or toes at this point so you grabbed two pillows off the sofa and handed one to Chris who laid down beside you. This wasn’t quite the fireplace fantasy he’d talked about, but it was still nice to just be here with him. The heat from the fire felt amazing on your tired feet and you took a deep soothing breath of the cinnamon wafting in the open grate. Your grandmother had a tradition of burning cinnamon sticks throughout the house on Christmas Day. She said Christmas wasn’t Christmas without its signature scent. It was a smell that always made you feel instantly relaxed and reminded you of home.

“This morning, when I was kidding around with the song, you said-,” he tapped his fingers on his chest nervously. “Well, I  _thought_ you said you’d never want to get rid of me. But, you said it like you meant something else. Did you?”

You chewed your lower lip, thinking over what you should say. “The truth is, I don’t want to lose your friendship. It means a lot to me.”

He got quiet again and you wondered if your short response was enough to satiate his curiosity.

“Do you ever wonder why we never dated?” Chris asked softly, abruptly interrupting your relaxed mood.

“Sometimes,” you honestly replied with a sigh. “You?” Your heartbeat quickened and you kept your eyes closed until you couldn’t take the waiting anymore and looked over to Chris. He was staring intently at a spot on the ceiling giving no clue as to what was going through his mind.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot more, recently. I keep puzzling over why I never asked you out and all my reasons seem more like excuses upon reflection.”

With him lost in thought, you observed the sharpness of his jaw and how from this angle his eyelashes really looked to beautiful to be real as they cast long shadows on his cheeks. You knew the moment you were living right now was about to change your life forever but you weren’t sure if it would be for the better or not. But, it didn’t scare you anymore. Hiding how you felt was exhausting and it wasn’t fair to yourself to pretend like they didn’t matter.

“There were a few times it seemed like we toed the line between being friends and becoming more, but I think, the truth is, I didn’t want to see how happy I knew you could make me because I was scared of losing my best friend if we didn’t work out,” you finally admitted with a rushed air. His gaze finally moved back to you. You got lost in his to blue eyes that were seeing every vulnerable piece of you as you continued, “You mean  _too much_  to me to risk losing you in my life just because… _because_ …” The words were stuck in your throat as your eyes prickled with tears. 

“Because you’d fallen in love with your best friend?” He breathed with a tender smile. “Funny thing now is, I fell a long time ago, angel. It just took coming to the mountains, as your pretend boyfriend, to make me realize the  _real_  Christmas Con was the one we’d been pulling on each other all along.”

You let out a choked laugh. Leave it to this amazing man to make you laugh at a moment like this. Once you started you couldn’t stop, and neither could he. You were both so blind for so long not willing to see what was right in front of you because you both didn’t want to hurt the other person. You loved him and now he knew. And the greatest thing was that Chris loved you, too.

“Come on,” he chuckled, standing and holding out a hand to you. You took it without question and he pulled you up next to him. He watched you hungrily as you both stood in the others space, waiting to see who would make the first move. You leaned forward, never wanting something more in your life than to kiss him right now. But, he pressed a finger to your lips. 

“ _Not yet,_ ” he whispered huskily, pulling away and longingly running his hands down your cheek and neck until he was holding your hands and keeping you a foot away. “Not yet, angel. There’s something I want to do first, if you’ll indulge me.”

You sighed and rolled your eyes affectionately, “I guess if I’ve waited this long to kiss you, what’s a few more minutes.”

He smirked and took you by the hand, leading you over to a secluded corner inset of the large living area that you and your family rarely visited. You noticed the sun was starting to go down through the arching windows and knew your family would be preparing for dinner right about now. Where did the day go? Another Christmas was almost gone, and it seemed like all to soon you would leave this magical place to head back home. You gazed down at your fingers intertwined with Chris’, and knew that this year you would be leaving with the best Christmas gift of all. Leaving didn’t seem so bad, when you were returning to something even better.

The sleek grand piano sat within the alcove with its own floor to ceiling window that looked out onto the snow covered lawn. It had always been here in the cabin over the years, but you couldn’t recall a time when you ever heard it played. 

Chris sat down on the bench and patted the spot next to him. You slid in and watched him raise the fallboard, running his fingers reverently across the keys. You knew he could play, and you’d spent many long hours on his off weekends in his house, lounging on the floor doing work or on his sofa reading, while he would put on a private concert and play for you. Those quiet nights in, just the two of you, were always both of your favorite ways to destress after a long week.

“When we were wrapping presents last night I saw this in the corner,” he played a few notes and the sound reverberated in the room. “I’ve thought of about a dozen different ways to tell you how I feel, but none of them seemed good enough. How could words show you how much you meant to me? The way you inspire me everyday, and how you stand up for your beliefs. The way you laugh at my jokes no matter how corny they are and how happy I get seeing your name pop up on my phone and so many other little things that make you the most incredible person I’ve ever met.

“I’ve played a lot of love songs for you back home, but they held no meaning at the time.” He cupped your cheek and smiled warmly, “I want _this_ song to always remind you of this moment… and how much I love you.”

“I love you, too, Chris,” you whispered with a soft laugh. “I think I always have.”

“I know, angel, and I’m sorry it took me so long to do this.”  
His hand moved to the back of your neck, pulling you closer as your heart started racing until your lips were centimeters apart. You felt the barest touch of his lips as he hovered above you as though wanting to etch every shortness of breath and touch into his memory forever. 

When he closed the distance and pressed his lips to yours, you had thought you would feel fireworks or have your stomach flipping in your body like you always heard it was supposed to feel like when you kissed the person you loved. 

As the kiss deepened, what you felt, however, was a serene calm spreading from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. Making every inch of you feel weightless. Your eyes fluttered closed and you could’ve cried at just how  _right_  it felt to kiss him. Like, Chris was the person you were always meant to share your life with because kissing him made all the fear and stress fall away with the touch of his lips. He was that  _something_  you hadn’t realized you’d been missing, and now that he was here with you it all became clear. 

Chris was  _home_. He was shared beds and candlelit dinners, museum dates and spontaneous adventures. He was Christmas magic that made you have hope for a future filled with family and laughter and  _love_.

When he pulled away, you followed his lips and tightened your grip on his shirt, pulling him back to you, not ready to let go. Now that you’d gotten a taste, you’d always want more. More of his kisses and touches and stupid jokes. More of  _him_ , and you knew you’d never get enough of any of it, but you’d spend the rest of your life trying.

He chuckled and rested his forehead against your own. “There’s no need to rush, angel. We have plenty of time, and  _I_  still have a song to play.”

You released him with a light chuckle and he placed his fingers on the keys, taking a deep breath to steady his shaking hands. You were pleased to see you weren’t the only one affected by that kiss.

His fingers moved gracefully across the black and white instrument, and the opening notes to  _Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas_  began. His deep voice rang out smoothly as he sang the lyrics to the Christmas classic.

_“Have yourself a merry little Christmas,_

_Let your heart be light_

_From now on, our troubles will be out of sight.”_

You closed your eyes and rested your head on his shoulder as he played, soaking in the way the shining black piano enhanced the nostalgic feeling of the song and how Chris’s singing reverberated in your chest after each note was struck.

_“Through the years we all will be together_

_If the fates allow_

_So hang a shining star upon the highest bough_

_And have yourself a merry little Christmas now”_

As the final notes echoed out, he kissed the top of your head. Applause sounded from somewhere behind you, making you both turn to see your entire family standing in the living area. They must have come in while he was playing.

“That was  _beautiful_ , Chris,” your mom said, wiping away a tear. “You have a wonderful voice.”

“I don’t think we’ve ever heard that piano played,” your dad said thickly, trying to discreetly wipe his eyes. He put a loving arm around your mom and pulled her into his side. He took a shuddering breath and nodded at Chris with a hint of sadness in his eyes and an accepting smile.

“Can you play us another song, son?” your grandfather asked, taking your grandmother’s hand and guiding her over to sit on the sofa next to him.

“Actually, he has to kiss her  _first_ ,” Y/F/N taunted, pointing above your heads. “It’s tradition.” Chris and you looked up to see mistletoe hanging from the alcove’s arch.

“Was that there before?” he questioned you, confused. “I don’t remember seeing it.” 

You didn’t recall the mistletoe up there either, but it wasn’t like it just appeared by  _magic_. It must’ve been hidden in the shadows until it got dark and the Christmas lights outside became bright enough for it to be seen.

“ _Well_ , what are you going to do about it, Evans?” You baited him, smiling as he threw his head back and laughed.

He leaned over and pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to your lips that had your heart soaring at the prospect of being able to kiss the man you loved whenever you wanted.

“Oh come on, don’t put on a show just because the parents are here,” Y/F/N teased. “Give her a  _real_ kiss!”

You giggled and held onto the front of Chris’ shirt as he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you closer with a knowing smile. 

He gave you a sly wink. “I just did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s the end dear readers! And now you know the real reason the story was called The Christmas Con. I hope I made the wait for the kiss worth it in the end, and that you enjoyed the ride because I know I did. Thank you all for reading. 
> 
> If you would like to read more of my work including some I don't post on AO3, my writing blog on Tumblr is @FandomWritingsGalore.
> 
> Happy (Slightly Late) Holidays!


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